Nahanni: Canada’s newest national treasure
NAHANNI BUTTE, NWT — The continent’s highest waterfall conjures up rainbows of cold mist to the west and North America’s second deepest canyon beckons from tall shadows to the east — spectacular geological bookends separating 200 kilometres of jaw-dropping mountain ranges that form the heart of Canada’s latest and greatest national park.
It is, declares park superintendent Chuck Blyth, “like having 100 parks in one”.
Meet The Nahanni, a protected wilderness expanded sixfold to more than 30,000 square kilometres of park by a unanimous House of Commons vote on a single day in mid-June in a show of speedy legislative passage and multi-party unity that is rare in government. It was hailed again last month as part of the federal government’s grand Arctic development plan.
Political interest in the Nahanni goes back long before this latest venture. For decades, it has been a rite of passage for federal Indian Affairs ministers to visit the river. Jean Chretien made the tour in that job, while Pierre Trudeau came as a rookie prime minister. Prime Minister Stephen Harper flew in to use the falls as an exotic backdrop for a news conference two years ago. Governor General Michaelle Jean paid a brief visit in 2006, only to have the unfortunate experience of spotting a missing canoeist’s body from the air. New Democrat Leader Jack Layton and wife MP Olivia Chow canoed it three summers ago right to the end.
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